Love Afterlife series
by magicmumu
Summary: Carolyn Lance and Selena Kyle try to move on into the afterlife together. Character death, Femslash, Dark themes. SelenaCarolyn, HelenaDinah
1. Love Afterlife

Title: Love Afterlife

Author: Erin Griffin

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Rating: PG

Pairing: Carolyn/Selina, hint of Helena/Dinah

Disclaimer: I own nothing worth suing for.

Summary: Two ex-lovers put the past to rest as they move on together into the afterlife.

Author's Note: There is character death, but nothing that isn't canon.

Carolyn watched as her daughter sought comfort in the woman she'd lashed out at. She hadn't meant to really, but the pain from the past was still there, and when she looked at the young brunette, all she could think about was her mother. That was all she saw in the young woman's eyes when they first met, and she couldn't handle looking at her. Sure, Bruce was there in the dark woman's hair and the way she held herself, but there was that gracefulness, the darkness, the feline side of her that will always be that of her ex-lover, the one woman Carolyn had ever loved.

The legendary Black Canary knew she was dead. There was no doubt about that as she looked at her charred flesh. She was just glad she couldn't feel it anymore, the burning. She couldn't really feel much of anything, actually, except for the lingering emotions her body once held inside. She could still remember what it felt like to hear the news that Selina had gone behind her back and went to Bruce. She had said it was for them, but Carolyn couldn't get past the fact that she wasn't told before the affair, and she broke away from what could be considered a relationship. It was then that Selina, broken hearted, Carolyn knew, went off to Paris when she found out she was pregnant and hadn't contacted Carolyn since.

The spirit that once was Dinah's mother didn't know what she was to do now that she was dead. Was she to follow the living and watch them, knowing she couldn't do anything to get their attention? Was she to find out what her unfinished business was and then cross over to the other side? Was she to go to the likes of John Edwards and Sylvia Brown and have them relay a message to Dinah? No, she wouldn't do that to her daughter. She said what she needed to say to her before she died. Carolyn was proud of her daughter, and will always be, whether or not she joined the crime fighters like she had. She had thought that telling her daughter this WAS her unfinished business, but the fact that she stood there now, dead and confused, made her think otherwise.

As Dinah held on to Helena, Carolyn wasn't blind to the attraction the two women had towards each other. It wasn't spoken, but she knew that it would only be a matter of time before they became lovers, and that was what had scared her into lashing out at Helena, not the fact that her mother was a thief. Carolyn couldn't have really cared less of that fact, really, except for the fact that Selina had stolen her heart, and hadn't given it back even in death. She was afraid of history repeating itself, and she didn't want her daughter to see anymore pain. She knew it was silly, given her and her daughter's chosen lifestyle, but Carolyn had to at least try to take Dinah away from it, otherwise her leaving the girl with the Redmonds ten years ago would have been redundant.

"They have a destiny to fulfill, Care, and we've fulfilled ours, which was to give them life." Carolyn turned to her right where the voice was.

There in the blue business suit she'd died in, was the one she'd felt so much love, hurt and anger towards for the last twenty four years. Selina looked at Carolyn fully, searching the woman's spirit with her feral eyes, and except for the wild glint, they almost mirrored her own. She saw the love and pain within them too. Even after all these years of not seeing her, Carolyn's mind never did justice to the image before her now. She was more beautiful now as the spirit of Selina stood there.

"Selina," was all Carolyn could say, breathless, even though she no longer needed the air. It was just habit, now, the rise and fall of her chest.

"Carolyn, I've come to take you home. It is time to let the past die and for us to move on." Gone was the feline seductress who's spell she'd fallen under so many years ago, and standing before her was a woman determined to set her afterlife right. "I don't regret what I did. When Helena was born she was-is the best thing that happened to me, but before that, you were."

"I understand. Dinah..."

"You did what you thought was best." Selina said. She understood that in order for them to move on together, they had some things to talk about, and they now had the time to do so.

"I wanted to do what you did, leave before things got so bad... Maybe find you in Paris and try to make a family of our daughters, but everyone would have gotten suspicious, and we all would have gotten killed, I'm sure."

"If things had gone that way- and Lord knows I wanted it to, Helena and Dinah wouldn't have been able to be together this way. They are supposed to fulfill a destiny, Carolyn, and they are supposed to do it together. We did our part in that destiny, and now it is time for us to go." Selina reached out her hand and waited for her ex-lover to decide whether or not she wanted to take it. "Come with me, I know of a better spot to watch from. There, we can wait for Wade Brixton."

"Who?"

"Barbara Gordon's heart." Carolyn nodded, and looked at her sobbing daughter once last time. "We'll come for her as well, but not for many years." Carolyn again nodded and took a hold of Selina's hand. Looking into her eyes, Selina stepped forward and their lips met for the first time in twenty four years. Carolyn was surprised she could feel the softness even in death, and she smiled.

"How I've missed you." she said, "I'm sorry-"

"You were angry with me," she said, "I deserved that anger. I broke my promise never to see Bruce again."

"If I could spend my afterlife with you, then I can forgive the last twenty four." Carolyn confessed.

"I love you, Carolyn. I have and will always love you. No matter what."

"I love you too."

Outside a burning warehouse, a dark brunette woman held on to the young girl as she sobbed on her shoulder. Her heart was breaking, and memories of seven years ago seemed fresh in her mind. She had more in common with the blonde girl than she would have ever wanted to admit, and more than anything she wanted to run from the new emotions she was feeling at that moment. She stroked the girl's hair, thinking to herself how wrong her feelings were, not because of the sex of the person who she was having feelings for, but the age difference that lingered between them. A pair of white orbs lifted from the warehouse, and if she wasn't looking directly at it, she would have sworn it was just a few high flying sparks from the fire. Not knowing exactly why, she whispered, "Take care of her, mom." She would have swore she heard a reply.

"I will, Kitten, and you take care of her," Helena was startled, and her hand went from Dinah's hair to her back, rubbing it affectionately as she looked down at her. When she looked up, the orbs were gone.

"I will, Mom... Carolyn... I promise."


	2. Apartment Upgrade

Apartment Upgrade

by Erin Griffin

Rating: PG

Pairing: Carolyn Lance/Selina Kyle (Catwoman/Black Canary), Helena/Dinah mention

Summary: "Heaven was, in fact, just like getting an apartment upgrade..." Carolyn tries to adjust to the easy afterlife in Heaven when the reunited loves get an unexpected visitor and a choice.

Disclaimer: I own Elizabeth, but she's a big feminist and would kick my ass at the thought of being 'owned'.

Author's Notes: Because of recent events in my real life, the thought of Heaven is comforting to me, so I have decided to finish this series of stories that I have had around my apartment for the last 6 months or so since the first 'Afterlife' story. This story along with the five or six to follow are all in a series starting with 'Love Afterlife'. There's character death, but nothing that isn't canon.

Heaven wasn't exactly what Carolyn had expected. There were no halos or wings. There wasn't even a Gabriel at the front gates, or gates at all for that matter. No clouds beneath her feet. She was just orbed from one spot to another, one dark, and the other light. There was the brightness that she had expected, but nothing she had to walk into, like in Ghost or something. There was, however, every person she'd ever lost in life. Tim Drake popped by for a quick visit before going to see his high school friend who had overdosed on drugs. She saw her grandparents and and aunt who died of breast cancer, but the ones who startled her the most in Heaven were the people who she had tried to save as Black Canary, but for whatever reason, couldn't, be it she didn't get there in time, or she had to sacrifice one to save many. Seeing these people happy and well in their afterlife made things a little easier on Carolyn. People were generally happy, and if you weren't, something changed in the atmosphere that made you so.

Of course, there was Selina, her love, beside her at last. No one ever bothered them after that first initial hour or so upon entering Heaven. She had met once, a young man named Guy, who was Helena's son, though Selina warned her that her daughter would never admit to him being that to her in fear of his death hurting her more than it already did. Because his life was such a special circumstance, he was one of the few 'working' angels who could shapeshift into any of the four shapes he took in life to guide children and teens into the afterlife if, for some reason, they had no one in Heaven waiting for them.

Heaven was, in fact, just like getting an apartment upgrade. Carolyn was comfortable, and comfort was always as close as she ever got to truly being happy in life. That she could remember, anyway. Inside their little piece of Heaven was a television which got any and every channel imaginable, but what Carolyn liked the most was that all she had to do was look out the window and she'd get the perfect view of her grown daughter, and despite what Dinah may have thought (and she had many, which Carolyn heard) the ex-superhero checked on her every day, only to find that she was just fine. There was always the feeling she got that told her a little bit of what was to come for them all in the Clocktower as she watched Wade and Barbara's relationship get serious. She even knew how and when Wade was going to die, but it wasn't in her power to do anything. She also knew that this had to do with Helena and Dinah's joined destinies.

That was another thing that Carolyn had noticed in Heaven, the fact that Helena and Dinah were, if anything, forcing themselves to be platonic, even distant, with Helena chasing after Detective Jesse Reece and Dinah playing the fool for a Mathew Kendall, which Carolyn knew wouldn't have worked even before she touched him that first time and got into his head. Selina mentioned a few times that they had done their part in the young women's destiny, but the late Black Canary thought something more needed to be done, yet it wasn't for her to decide.

If Carolyn were absolutely honest with herself, Heaven was nice, peaceful, a wonderful place to rest up for a few years... but also a little boring. Maybe that was why she felt relief when she felt, rather than saw, the angelic messenger approaching as she lay with Selina, curled up perfectly in a shape that was uniquely theirs. "I know you're a little restless, Care- I was too, at first- but you'll get used to it," her lover often said, and Carolyn wondered if that was true. As she thought this over yet again in Selina's arms, a little girl, Elizabeth, appeared before them. Elizabeth was usually busy near the holidays, mainly because she had to play the Ghost of Christmas Past for a Grinch or two around Christmas time, so Carolyn would often feel her running about to different parts of the 'neighborhood' to deliver some message or another as she tried to get things caught up before she left.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your lazy decade, but I've got a message for the both of you." She put on a pair of reading glasses and looked at the clipboard on her lap, even though both older women knew she didn't need to wear them; she just liked looking older than seven. " 'Says here that you both," she pulled the glasses down a bit over the bridge of her nose and peered over them at Selina, "even you, Catwoman, were both heroes before your deaths, and He wants to repay you for that by putting you two near the front of the line for reincarnation. However, He would like you to complete three tasks before you go. I know that reincarnation is a big decision, and if you're not sure, I can come back after you get your assigned input. What do you say?" Selina looked at Carolyn, who shrugged.

"We'll need more time to decide." She spoke next to her love. "Let's go get Wade, then we'll come back and talk about it, alright?"

"Okay," Selina wrapped her arms around Carolyn and kissed her. Elizabeth took the glasses off and put them on her pocket and sighed. She really did look tired for an angel, and Carolyn felt bad for her, even though the young-looking angel chose that line of afterlife work.

"I'll be back in a few days. Talk it over, let me know so I can let Him know."

"Bye Elizabeth," Carolyn said, watching the angel disappear. She looked at her once feral lover.

"Tell me your thoughts, love."

"I know I'm restless here, but to be reincarnated? I just got here, Selina. I just got you back."

"I know, but you seem to want to go back to the life you had, and though you can't do that, you can get another chance at life. Now... I left my one big concern (which was at the time, Helena) in good hands by having Barbara care for her, but you must still feel as if you've got unfinished business."

"No, not really. I told Dinah that I was proud of her- and I am. That was my business. I don't want to spend another lifetime without you."

"It's only a lifetime compared to an eternity." Carolyn sighed, then after a long moment, she nodded.

"When put like that..." Carolyn looked into Selina's eyes. "Is this what you want, another life?" Selina nodded.

"It'd be a new adventure, one where we made new choices, feel certain emotions again, to learn and to understand."

"Alright then... We'll go get Barbara's heart, then we'll let Elizabeth know that we'll do it."

"You can stay here if you like."

"I'm not waiting close to a century for you up here," Carolyn said almost stiffly, and Selina couldn't help but laugh at this.

"Our love is strong, Care. If you're going to be out there too, just know that I love you so much that a new body and face won't ever hide your soul from me. We'd see it, and we'll be together again." Carolyn would never admit to it, but she liked the thought of that, Selina's soul shining out so that only she saw it... Falling in love with her all over again... If only it would be that easy. Carolyn looked out the window and watched as Harleen Quinzell, later revealed to her family as Harley Quin, the girlfriend of the Joker, made certain that her plan played out the way she wanted it.

"Wow, that Harley bitch sure does know how to drive us all crazy... pun intended..." Selina and Carolyn watched as New Gotham went nuts, the buildings getting grafitti'd and destroyed inside and out.

"Come on, it's time to get Wade. He just discovered Harley in the Clocktower." Carolyn and Selina linked hands and the two disappeared as orbs down to Earth. Together, they watched as Helena's high school friend Gibson spouted gibberish, and as Harley made Wade kiss her, Selina looked away at the sight of the knife. Carolyn held her and watched on. Carolyn checked on Selina when Wade's body dropped to the floor, and when she looked up again, the body looked already paler. The spirit of Wade Brixton sat up, then stood, looking around him. He brought his hand up to his lips and paused when he saw the two women.

"Who're you? I don't remember seeing you two with her-" he looked around again. "Oh god- oh no... I'm dead." He stared at his body and watched as Harley Quinn pet Gibson on the head and walked away. "She ki- ki-" He couldn't seem to say it. Carolyn knew that Selina wasn't going to speak after a moment, so she had to.

"I'm so sorry, Wade." The newly dead man stared at her, horror struck. "My name is Carolyn Lance, Dinah's mother. This is my- This is Selina Kyle, Helena's mother. We've come to take you... well, to your new home. I- I know I'm making myself sound lame, and I'm sorry, but this is my first time as well."

"Do I get to say goodbye to Barbara? My parents?" Carolyn shook her head. "Why not? They had to know that I love them," he insisted.

"I'm sorry. There's too much going on right now for you to do that. Come with us, Wade. We'll wait for the rest of them together." Selina looked up at Carolyn and nodded in agreement, then she looked at Wade.

"Why didn't my brother come get me?" That question stumped Carolyn, and she looked to Selina for an answer, but the older woman didn't give her anything. She had a look on her face that told Carolyn that she was doing fine in this by herself and should keep going.

"My only guess is that he's a guardian or he's been given a new life." Wade nodded, and took Carolyn's offered hand. "Come on, Oh Silent One. Beam us up, Scottie," Carolyn said just to get her lover to speak. She was rewarded when Selina scrunched up her nose.

"Very funny, Spock."

"I don't have pointy ears."

"No, you don't. You've got very sexy ears." Carolyn wondered how someone could find ears sexy as she avoided Wade's raised eyebrows. The three turned to orbs and floated to the sky, where Carolyn knew she'd spend precious few hours until she went back herself with a new life.


	3. Finding His Way

Finding His Way

by Erin Griffin

Rating: PG

Pairing: Selina Kyle/Carolyn Lance (Black Canary/Catwoman), mention of Helena/Dinah

Summary: Wade spends some time in the care of Carolyn and Selina while he waits to find his place in Heaven.

Summary: " 'Just until he finds his way,' Selena said to her in a soothing voice. Ugh!" Carolyn and Selena take Wade under their wing for a little bit while they wait to make their choice.

Disclaimer: I own Elizabeth, but she's one scary seven year old. Not sure if I want to be associated with that...

Author's Note: Third in the Afterlife series starting with Love Aftelife and Apartment Upgrade. Due to recent events in my real life, the thought of Heaven comforts me, so I am dedicating my weekend to typing this series up. Enjoy.

Carolyn watched as Wade flipped through the thousands of channels for close to an hour before he found the medieval channel, and was watching some documentary about jousting. Carolyn felt bad for the guy, being so new and confused, and caught in the middle of a battle started by a hero and villain who both weren't even there. Sad story, and really, Carolyn Lance was touched by his ignorant bravery, but she hadn't counted on him living with them. "Just until he finds his way," Selena said to her in a soothing voice. Ugh, who could resist that face, that 'long lost kitten stuck in the rain' look Selena only gave Carolyn when she resisted both reason and seduction. It was her last resort and both women knew it would make Carolyn cave in, but seriously, the medieval channel? The late Black Canary wasn't used to that TV being on, her preferred place being at the window watching her daughter and Helena dance around the bushes and avoid a destiny that even Carolyn didn't know about. One could sit at that TV and watch history and lose track of the present as you know it, and the next thing you know, your children have children and possibly grandchildren, and they are less than a decade away from being ready to join you. If you asked Carolyn, she'd say, wait and see what the big joined destiny was supposed to be, go get Helena and Dinah when their time came, and THEN sit back in front of the ol' boob tube and catch up on history.

Carolyn watched Helena's high school friend Gibson, who seemed to have troubles with the fact that he couldn't remember what all he'd done as the Clocktower was being cleaned up. She felt the angel before she saw her, as it was Elizabeth's way of 'knocking' before she entered someone's piece of Heaven. Everyone in the 'neighborhood' could feel her close by, and since she was expecting her, she knew she was coming for them. Ever since she had given the lovers the message that they could be reincarnated after completing three tasks, Carolyn had felt something she hadn't thought she would feel in Heaven: Fear. She was afraid of going back to life without knowing where to begin looking for Selena, or even if she would remember her. If she were honest with herself, she would admit that she wasn't used to how safe she was, but that didn't mean she was ready to go back to it all. Carolyn was even entertaining the thought of eventually being a guardian angel or something. That'd give her something to do for a century or two. "Wade Elliot Brixton, nice to finally meet you," Elizabeth said softly, and Carolyn saw the smile on her face. It was very welcoming. Wade looked up from the TV and stared at the messenger.

"Do I know you?"

"Not likely. I've been dead for almost a millennia, but it is nice to finally meet you all the same," she replied, and Wade thought about this before nodding with a polite smile on his face. "So, how are you enjoying Heaven so far?"

"It's well... I've only been here for what feels like an hour, but it's not exactly what I expected."

"Halos and wings?"

"And a harp," Wade added.

"Ah, the harp. You know how many people don't play the harp? If they wanted one so badly, why didn't they pick one up when they were alive?" "I don't know, money issues, they're tone deaf, it's on their list of regrets when they died..." Elizabeth smiled at that. Carolyn just watched as the two exchanged their words, momentarily looking out the window at her daughter, who called Gibson King Kong.

"Well, enough chit chat. I'm way behind as it is. Doesn't help that I've got sixteen Scrooges to play The Ghost of Christmas Past for this year. Before I get started, where's Selena?"

" 'Went to Earth to give a presence of comfort to Helena. S'not working, it looks like," Carolyn replied. Even the day she died, Carolyn had never seen Dinah looking so lost. Helena seemed to run off so she could drink herself stupid.

"I wish I could tell her that its okay."

"That's sweet, Wade, but Helena's so headstrong that even if you told her that to her face, she'd still never believe you."

"I want to try," Wade said, and Carolyn nodded.

"I'll tell you what," Elizabeth spoke up, "if there's need for help by these two when they do their tasks, then I'll run it by Him, and if He approves, you can help out. Maybe then He'll reward you with the chance to get your goodbyes said and to maybe talk to Helena, though I highly doubt he'll allow the latter. Then again, if it will help your passing... but don't get your hopes up is all I'm saying. For right now, I have to summon Selena- Oh!" She turned to Wade. "Where on Heaven do you want to live?"

"Well, I don't know."

"Would you like to live in the Heaven you expected, or would you like to live in a place that's almost like a place on Earth? What would you like to do? You can also train to be a working angel or wait in line for reincarnation."

"Wow. I think I'll wait before jumping into another life. I grew up in the country in my family's farmhouse in northern Oklahoma. When my dad got a better job, we moved into the city, but I always missed that house." Elizabeth nodded.

"Done." The young-looking angel looked out the window, following Carolyn's gaze at the Dark Horse Bar where Helena lived and worked. Selena was whispering in Helena's ear, but the young woman didn't seem to hear any of it. Selena looked up suddenly, and Elizabeth waved inward to herself in a summoning gesture. Immediately, Carolyn felt Selena's presence and her lover was suddenly there holding on to her. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, Selena-"

"No need to apologise. I know you wouldn't interrupt anything unless it was important."

"Right. I need to know if you have reached a decision." Carolyn and Selena twisted to see each other's eyes. Selena saw the uncertainty that was still in her soulmate's eyes and tried to show her that there was still a way out. She could still say no, Selena was trying to tell her. When Carolyn nodded, Selena looked at Elizabeth.

"Yes."

"Excellent. You have three tasks. You'll have to accomplish one each on your own, then the last task you will have to do together. The option given is this: You can do your tasks simultaneously, or you can go one at a time. Either way, you must do your last task together, something I doubt you would argue." This wasn't expected. Carolyn had thought that each one of them would have to do three tasks, when from the looks of it, she only had to do one and a half. Carolyn liked that option better.

"Care, which would you prefer?" Carolyn looked at her soulmate and then to the TV, where the renaissance program was still on. She knew Selena wanted to be reincarnated. She knew Selena hadn't gotten on the waiting list because she was waiting for Helena, but if Helena's with Dinah, which still hadn't happened, then she'd have no need to watch watch over the living. Carolyn herself had just gotten there, but she made so many mistakes that, maybe she could die content the next time around. 'Next time,' she thought, 'maybe I'd keep the child, or not have children at all. Next time I'd hold on to Selena, whoever she may be in the next life.' That was what made her hesitate. What if she didn't find Selena next time? Or worse, what if she did and didn't know it was her? A hand on Carolyn's shoulder stilled her thoughts, and Carolyn nodded.

"We can do them simultaneously," she said. "It'll go faster if we do." Selena nodded, and the late Black Canary was pretty sure that her choice was that of her lovers as well.

"Very good," Elizabeth said, handing both women a slip of paper. "Report to these locations as soon as you can. You'll know what to do once you get there. Good luck you two." With that, Elizabeth turned to Wade with a look of expectation on her face. He put a hand up, signalling the need of another minute.

"Thank you for letting me stay here for a few hours. It was nice knowing you, and I hope we will meet again in life."

"I hope so, too," Carolyn said to Wade, even though she was the one with the slight annoyance because of the TV. Wade and Elizabeth disappeared, and Selena looked Carolyn in the eye.

"You'll be fine. I love you. No matter what, always remember that." I nodded.

"I love you, too, Selena." The late Catwoman orbed and was gone. Carolyn stared at the Oregon address, and then concentrated on that. Suddenly, the home she shared with Selena was gone and Carolyn didn't know where she was.


	4. Selena's Task

Selena's Task

by Erin Griffin

Rating: PG-13/R-ish (attempted armed robbery)

Pairing: Selena Kyle/Carolyn Lance (Black Canary/Catwoman)

Summary: " 'Job?' Donny asked, 'Lady, I'm sure at this moment all of my job skills are shot to hell...' " Selena has to stop disaster for a desperate man in need of assistance in order to complete her task and make her way into the line for reincarnation. (First person, Selena's point of view.)

Disclaimer: I own noting, not this time. Wait, I own Selena's piece of paper... yup... good god, I need a life.

Author's Note: Hi-ya. Fourth in the Afterlife series, starting with Love Afterlife, Apartment Upgrade and Finding His Way

Going on missions like these weren't exactly a new thing for me. I'd been dead for over seven years, after all. What do you think I was doing all that time, knitting a 'Welcome to Heaven' sweater for Carolyn and Helena in front of that stupid TV? How boring. No, here and there, I'd get sent as a stand-in guardian, a substitute teacher, only for guardian angels. Hey, even they need a break. So, for a day or two I'd be assigned to follow someone around, make sure they stay safe. I knew about His tasks. He didn't assign them unless the angel was somehow connected, but looking at this fairly new building in Tulsa, Oklahoma, all I saw were dots. Nothing added up, and when my slip of paper said 'Donny's wife' and nothing more, I was puzzled to say the least. I stepped inside anyway, hoping the scene would become something I could easily play along with. It was a small building with six cubicles, and five of them were occupied. Was the sixth one mine? Was I 'Donny's wife'? I looked around as I heard angry footsteps behind me. I took a quick glance at the slip of paper in my hands, but nothing had changed on it.

I saw a young man, no older thirty, charge inside with a gun visible in his hand. This must have been Donny, but what was I to say about his wife? I didn't know anything about is wife. Was his wife the reason he was there, threatening the lives around me? This didn't make any sense to me, how was I connected to Tulsa, Oklahoma? I decided not to worry so much about the connection, and focused on the gun in Donny's hand. I slowly walked up to him. "I wouldn't take one more step." That made me stop moving.

"Are you Donny?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Who's asking?"

"I'm a- well, a friend of your wife's," I told him, sneaking a look at the slip of paper in my hand. He caught the movement, however, and pointed the gun at my hand. I was relieved to see that it was what looked like a business card for a larger company. "She told me- uh- about your situation and told me where I might find you. Shall we talk outside? I'll..." I swallowed, looking fearfully at the gun even though it didn't bother me as much as Wade's knife had. "I'll tell you more about the job.-"

"Job? Lady, I'm sure at this moment, all of my job skills are shot to hell." Still, the young man lowered his hand, and I continued to feign nervousness."

"I'm sure, Mr.-"

"Donny. Just Donny." He looked around at the people who had covered themselves under their desks, and I was reminded of earthquake drills. He sneered at them, then turned his back and left, muttering something about 'seven years'. He put the gun in the belt holder, and roughly grabbed my arm. In life, I would have beat the shit out of him for even touching me, but in death, I was supposed to be helping him, so I pretended to be scared. I looked at the people behind me.

"Please don't press charges. He's a desperate man. I'll take care of everything." As soon as we were outside and down the street some, Donny let go of my arm, and when I saw his face, I knew that what I had said to those people in that office was true. I could kind of piece it all together. The people in the building fired him for whatever reason, and when he couldn't get another job, well, things turned out the way they had. He had gone back either to get revenge or to simply rob them. He sat down heavily on a bench by a bus stop and sighed, then put his head down. His shoulders shook, and I sat next to him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh God... I'm so sorry," he whispered, to whom exactly, I wasn't sure. ''I'm sure He knows,' I thought to myself, 'otherwise I wouldn't be here.' Donny looked at me and laughed bitterly. "Like I said, I just blew any chance I ever had of getting a job at your company."

"Actually, it's not my company, but I've got a lot of sway with the big guy who does own it though," I said, which wasn't true. I'd just hoped that the real Big Guy would help me make this true. I stared at Donny for a second, then smiled to help ease the tension. "Since I owe your wife- long story, maybe she will tell you some other time, as I am already going to be late for a meeting- Since I owe your wife, I'll make you a deal. You tell no one I'm not a natural blonde, and no one will know about this temper tantrum you had today." Donny let out an noise that was a half laugh, half sob.

"Why?"

"Why am I not a natural blonde?

"Heh- No, why are you being so nice to me after I could have killed you back there?"

"You're not the only one who's having trouble right now. The economy is so shitty that McDonald's won't even hire you. Everyone needs a little help here and there," I told him looking up at the sky, "you just have to know how to ask for it." When I looked at Donny, he had a look of awe, and I cleared my throat. "Anyway, call this number, ask for..." I looked at the card and saw the name of an assistant, "Catherine Strahling, and she'll set you up and tell you all the details."

"You're an angel. You've got to be."

"Hardly," I lied. "Knowing my track record, Satan's waiting to waltz with me." I smiled at the image. "You'll be fine. Get rid of the gun, Donny. If your son or daughter finds it, they'll get hurt," I said suddenly, not quite in control of my mouth then. Donny looked confused.

"S-son? Daughter...?" I felt a small chill, the first since I had died, but it made me smile.

"Call your wife." I looked up at the sky with a sly grin, then looked at my wrist. No watch. I looked around and saw a clock on one of the buildings down the street. "Oh shit, is that really the time? I've gotta scoot. I'm really going to be late for that dinner meeting if I get stuck in traffic. I think you'll be just fine, Donny," I said again.

"Thank you. You just saved my life- and I don't even know your name."

"You can call me a friend and leave it at that, can't you?" Donny nodded. "Than I bid you Adieu." With that, I walked away, down the street and turned the corner.

Before I could transport back to heaven or see if I had completed my task, I heard, "You're not a natural blonde?"

"Of course I am," I said. I didn't mean to snap at Elizabeth, but the thought of anything about me being fake made me mad.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I wouldn't be down here if congratulations wasn't in order."

"Congrats?" I asked, frowning. "For what?"

"You're the first angel to stop and resolve a hostage or burglary situation in under fifteen minutes. Very well played, even though your acting skills could use some work. I would have known even walking down the street that you weren't scared of him. However, you caught on to the piece of paper quickly."

"Uh, about that..."

"Well, you pretty much figure out what is supposed to be going on, and your role in all of it, then the paper serves whatever need it is, a name, a number, an address, a sentence to say if you will it. I can only hope Carolyn can figure that out. Speaking of which, I was also supposed to tell you that once you're back up in Heaven again, you're going to feel Carolyn call for you. It is going to be strong, but whatever you do, you must stay put and let her finish her task. I'll get her when it is time." I nodded, and together we both turned to orbs and transported back to Heaven. The TV was off when I got inside and Wade was gone, most likely living on a replica of the country home he grew up in. I wished peace and happiness upon him as I waited for my love to return to me.


	5. Carolyn's Task

Carolyn's Task

by Erin Griffin

Rating: PG-13-ish

Pairing: Carolyn Lance/ Selena Kyle (Catwoman/Black Canary)

Summary: "Was my story my task?" Carolyn is on the first task in order to be reincarnated and is led to a girl who as more in common with her that she'd like to admit. (Carolyn's point of view, first person)

Disclaimer: I own Elizabeth, and I am just saying that now only to piss her off. Anyone you don't recognise is mine, everyone else isn't. You should know this by now.

Author's Note: Fifth in the Afterlife series starting with Love afterlife, Apartment upgrade, Finding is way and Selena's Task. Due to recent events in my real life, the thought of Heaven comforts me, so I am dedicating my weekend to typing this series up.

When I looked up, I saw it was still light out compared to the night of New Gotham time. The sky looked like it was to pour buckets of rain at any given moment. Already, I wanted to say 'forget it' as soon as I saw the building I stood in front of. "An abortion clinic," I said out loud. I looked down at the address, praying that I had orbed to the wrong place, but it was correct. I looked up at the building again, wondering exactly what I had to do. Looking back at the card for a clue, the address had disappeared, and there was only a name on it. "Molly Stites... oooookay... And I'll assume that she's in... here..." The clinic had a sign saying that it was open from eleven until six. Couldn't this task have waited until the next day? Looking in the window, I saw a girl sitting in a chair with her hands folded between her knees. She looked defeated at only eighteen or nineteen years old. This had to have been Molly Stites, a petite African American girl in a black winter coat and jeans. As soon as I opened the door, she looked up at me expectantly. Did she know me already? Was she expecting me?

"Jaqueline?" I looked up suddenly at another African American woman at the desk. She came around to shake my hand. "Thank you for coming on short notice, Miss Peterson. Molly wanted to talk to you before she made her final decision."

"Really?" I asked, surprised, and I was given curious looks.

"You are Molly's school counsellor, aren't you?" the woman gave the girl a stern look, as if she had lied about something, and Molly looked confused as if to say, 'she really is!'.

"Yes, apparently I am," I murmured. Molly looked at me with a question on her face. "I'm sorry, Molly. I've had a bad week, and I certainly didn't expect this call. Come with me." I took on the authorities tone and posture that I hadn't really needed to use over the last decade except for when I had gone back to New Gotham to get Dinah. I looked at the thin woman behind the desk. "Do you have a room we can talk in?" She nodded and pointed to a door down the hall.

"Take your time. I won't leave the building until you're done."

"Thank you," I said, then made the motions for Molly to follow me to the room the woman had pointed to. I snuck one more glance at the piece of paper to find it blank. I had hoped that there would be more later, but part of me knew that from then on I was on my own. As the door closed behind us, I watched Molly as she took the position of a child about to get punished by her parents. Speaking of... "Do your parents know?" Molly shook her head. I had thought not.

"Dad won't care, really. I'm an adult now, but Mom... well... she already hates Brian. When she finds out that he left me, she'll flip, and I don't want to hear no more I told you so's." I nodded.

"So what do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I've been thinking about it. Hard. I don't want to kill the baby, but I just started college last year. And if I give up the baby for adoption, how do I know it will be cared for and loved?" I stayed silent for a little while until the girl started to fidget, well, more than she already was.

"This is a difficult situation, and it does prove that you have given this some thought, but this isn't something that I can decide for you."

"I'm not ASKING you to decide anything. I'm just ASKING you to help me talk this out," she snapped. I stared at her as I thought about this, and her tone changed considerably. "I thought maybe you'd know another way."

"Maybe I'm not the person you should be talking to. I've been down a path similar to this, and it didn't end well for anyone."

"Tell me what happened."

"I think that is breaking a rule or two, Molly."

"Please." I watched her. Was my story my task? Was I to somehow help guide her through this situation by telling her how much of a failure I was as a mother?

"No more of the attitude, alright?"

"I'm sorry."

"You're stressed out, and I understand that. But I'm here to help you in whatever way I can." I continued to watch her, then I sighed. "Before... I was a councillor, I had a high stress job. I was in no shape to have children, even if I wanted them. My lifestyle wouldn't have agreed wit it. Yet still, I got pregnant. I decided after a long time to keep her. I think it was the overdose of pickles and peanut butter." Molly made a face, and I smiled. "She was beautiful, even if she did make me eat that stuff. We were happy as a fatherless family for a while until aspects of my job interfered. It made me realize just how wrong my decision to keep her had been. She was six years old when I packed up her things and left her with a foster family in the middle of nowhere, hoping on my life that she would be safe. Apparently, as my daughter grew up, she became different, something none of us expected, and she became like me. More like me than I wanted. The family I left her with started to treat her cruelly because of it." I stopped, watching Molly's face. I knew she was worried about her leaving her baby with the likes of the Redmonds. "I hadn't known they'd be that way to her. She's better now. She's in better control over who she is and has a better sense of self than I ever really did, but she had to run away from that family in order to achieve that. As fate or luck would have it, she was taken in by a friend of mine from- uh- high school. Dinah- my daughter- says she wants to also do the job I had left. At first I didn't like it, but now... I know she'll be better at it than I ever was. Anyway, I thought I was protecting her, but she's now doing the exact same thing I tried to hide her from. So... basically, I lost my daughter for ten years and missed out on so much for no reason at all." I had never really thought of the situation that way until then. 'How's that for irony?' I thought. "So, then I- well, left again. She didn't need me. I was just a reminder of the pain she had gone trough the last ten years. And now... I'm here." I didn't know what else to say.

"Wow. It sounds like you at first didn't want kids, but once she was born, instincts kicked in and you fell in love.

"Yes."

"But... You could still be in her life. She's what, six when you left her and you lost her for ten years... She can't be older than me, you're too young for a child in her twenties."

"She's almost seventeen, yes."

"This was recently. It's not too late-"

"We're here talking about you and your baby, not me and mine. All I want now, after ten years of pain, is for her to be happy, and I know for a fact that she is happier now that she's learned to live without me. Now, about you... Have you thought about keeping the child more than having the abortion?"

"Yes, I think I might take care of her. At least then I'd know she was safe and loved and I won't have to wonder all the time."

"If keeping this baby is something you want to do, you can still continue your classes, take your maternity leave, then go back. You could take your classes online, or I'm sure that there's a childcare somewhere in or near the campus that you can drop your child off for a few hours while you studied or went to class. You don't have to make your decision right away, but Molly, it does have to be soon. Do some research, make some phone calls, and most importantly, talk to your mother. Sure, she'll have a bit of a fit, but you would too if this child did the same thing twenty years from now. You may not know this, but mothers are usually the best people to talk to about children." Molly nodded, then reached her arms out. I stepped up to her and let her arms embrace me.

"Thank you, Miss Peterson. I knew I could talk to you." I patted her back, and then stepped away.

"Come on, we should let the woman who works here lock up so she can go home. I bet there's a good dinner waiting for me at home as well, and you've got a long journey ahead of you." Together, we walked outside, and I saw the effect the wind had on both the trees and the young woman next to me, but I didn't feel it. It was strange to me. There I was, expecting the need to hug my coat closer to me, but I didn't feel anything other than loss and confusion, emotions I thought would have left me after I'd died. I suddenly needed Selena. As I watched Molly drive away, I thought of Dinah, and the many things I missed in her development. She should have gotten my motherly words, not Molly, but then, I think Molly needed them more than Dinah ever would. Dinah's a smart girl (not that Molly wasn't), and I ruined it. I walked down the street and around the corner, and only then did I let a tear fall.

"It wasn't a sacrifice made in vain, or without love, Carolyn." Startled, I looked up at the voice, knowing who it belonged to, and wishing it was someone else. Wise brown eyes that didn't match the seven year old body, looked up at me. "You did what you thought was right, and it WILL work out for the best. Trust me. Trust Him. Come on, now. Your task is complete, and Selena's waiting for you." Elizabeth reached up and I took her hand. The world faded and my heavenly neighborhood was in view before I saw our home.

"Thank you, Elizabeth." The girl smiled, then stepped aside as Selena's arms surrounded me.

"I'm sorry I didn't come for you myself, but I had to let you finish your task. I felt your longing for me, and I'm here now. I love you, Carolyn, and I'm here," she whispered. I let my tears continue to fall.

"Selena, I don't think I want to go. I want to stay here." Was the great late Black Canary whining? I asked myself in my mind. "It hurts down there. Too much pain," I said, but looking into Selena's eyes, I knew that she wanted to live again and in order to to that I had to help her with the last task. I knew this would make Selena happy, so I decided that that was the only reason I was doing that. I nod, though no question was being said. I didn't want to be on Earth again, but heaven would be lonely without Selena.


	6. The Task Done Together Part 1

The Task Done Together - Part One

by Erin Griffin

Rating: PG-13(ish)

Pairing: Selena Kyle/Carolyn Lance (Catwoman/Black Canary), talk of Helena/Dinah

Summary: " I turned to Carolyn and took her hand. 'Let's roll,' "Together, Carolyn and Selena go down to Earth to finish their final task, which is to help patch things up with their family after Harley Quinn's attack on the Clocktower.

Disclaimer: Still nothing.

Author's Note: If I got paid five bucks for every fanfic I ever wrote, I would still need a job, but I would be like 'Whoo-hoo, I finished this fic, AND I got five bucks!' Also, I know know KNOW the Black Canary/Catwoman history is so off base, and it is so wrong, but be good, and let it be. Sixth in the Afterlife series starting with Love Afterlife, Apartment Upgrade, Finding his Way, Selena's Task and Carolyn's Task

Selena

"Before you go down to Earth for your last task, I must tell you both something. As you may or may not know, these tasks were not just designed for the living. Angels, too, must learn as well. I hope you keep in mind everything that was said to you tonight as well as everything you've said to the living. That and only that will help you through this last task. I believe you already know where to go, and this right here is the only hint you get. I wish you both luck. You're both amazing women," Elizabeth said, and I nodded. I turned to Carolyn and took her hand.

"Let's roll." She too nodded, and kissed me as we orbed to the New Gotham Clocktower. "Go to Helena. I've got to go to Barbara."

"What about Dinah?"

"She's confused, but she's not as bad off as the other two. We'll get to her, but there's only two of us and we need to get through the worst of it first." We kissed again, just for the heck of it really, and I watched her walk from that middle room where the broken Delphi system was and into the training room before I transported to a deserted building, torn apart by the madness of the city. In the middle of the ruins was Barbara Gordon, and her head was in her hands as she cried. "Well, shine the light on me, for I am an angel," I looked into deep green as Barbara's head rose at my voice, "and you, Baby Bat, are a coward."

Carolyn

I could run into Dinah's room screaming and she wouldn't have heard me. No matter then. I wasn't there for her just yet. I didn't need for her to hear me, though I silently wished it. I knew that only Helena could hear or see me then, as that was who I was there for. When I got to the doorway of the training room, I remembered the last time I was in that area, looking up at my daughter, who looked down at me with disbelief and a little bit of disgust. I could hear the rapid pounding on the punching bag, which brought back other memories going further back. There was rhythmic breathing and the occasional grunt of frustration and pain. Then it suddenly stopped. "Dinah?" At that, I entered the room, and Helena took a step back. "Carolyn?"

"Did you forget the promise you made to both your mother and me?"

"Promise?" I could see her searching her mind for a time when she might have made a promise, for surely she wouldn't have gone back on it. She was her mother's daughter, after all.

"You said you'd take care of Dinah, but right now, she's lost and alone in her room, wondering why you won't talk to her. What did she do to make you mad?" Carolyn asked, and it startled Helena.

"It was nothing she did. Its- Its me. I've been so messed up lately. Especially after last night. Barbara's gone, we're both scared, and I can't seem to sort all of these thoughts out anymore." Helena seemed surprised that she was able to tell me, a spirit, that much. I was surprised that she hadn't questioned my presence, the hows and whys of it all. Maybe she didn't need to know, or maybe she just didn't care. I felt no anger towards me, and I felt as if our truce was already there, but I was still unsure if Helena's reaction to me was a right one. Who was I to judge what reaction of hers was right or wrong? It just felt odd to me that she was so calm about meeting a spirit.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Why not? Everyone else around here has gone crazy. Why not me?" Ah, that's better. "If you're real, and I don't know how you could be, then you probably hate me more now than you did when you were alive. She was prey that night. I saw fear in her eyes and I loved it. I was playing with them, knowing that I'd hunt them down soon enough, and rattled the cage they trapped themselves into. She was SCARED of me! Besides, I..." Her sentence got lower and lower; I couldn't hear what she'd said.

"Excuse me?" Helena took in a deep breath.

"I said, 'Besides, I can't seem to breathe when I'm near her anymore, let alone speak to her.' " That was all I really needed to hear. At least then, I knew we were getting somewhere.

Selena

"If I had known that you were going to leave Helena-"

"I wasn't going to leave like Bruce did, I was going to come back in a few hours-"

"That doesn't matter because she doesn't know that. Neither does Dinah. They think they're screwed with you gone and neither of them knowing as much about the Delphi," I told her, which may or may not have been a lie. Who knows?

"I was coming back," she said again. "I just needed to think. I needed to be a lone for a moment." I just stood there stupidly. I hadn't felt that way since Helena would ask me all of those stumper questions that I just couldn't answer. For some reason, I couldn't talk to her. I left my one prize possession, a very important part of me in her care, and I couldn't for the afterlife of me speak to her. So much irony, so little time.

"I know that there's something going on in the Clocktower soon that you will need to be a part of. This is a gut feeling more than it is fact, but when an angel gets sudden 'I have a feeling' notions, its best not to ignore them."

"I'll be there soon."

"Barbara-"

"Please! Just let me be. Please..." The more she resisted me, the more at loss I felt. Would things have been this way had I still been alive talking to her? Of course not. I doubt even Dinah would be there if I was alive. In such ways, I don't wish my death hadn't happened. How was I supposed to help- It was then I remember the words of the Messenger. It was then that I knew exactly what to do.

Carolyn

Helena watched me to see if I might hate her now. I only smiled at her, which caught her even more off guard than I thought she would have been just at the mere sight of me. "I figured as much. It really isn't that big of a secret. I see a bit in my new home, Helena. I know."

"And how I feel for her...?"

"No, it doesn't bother me. I... Well, not to sound like a South Park character here, but I learned something today. I was so scared in life. Sure, giving up Dinah was what I'd do over again, but if I had to do it over, I'd have gone back to see her. At least once a year for a few hours. There were so many times in that decade that I could have done it. I was just so paranoid that I'd do something that would lead my pursuers to her. The thing is, I don't want you two to lose a decade to fear. In your line of work, every moment is precious. So is she." Helena nodded in agreement. "Come on, let's go see if she's okay at least."

"Not yet, I mean, I know she is, but I need a minute to gather my courage to speak to her." I nodded, but felt a little bit impatient. Did she not hear the 'every moment is precious' portion of my little speech? 'Come on, Helena, hurry up.' I thought. "So um..." Helena hesitated. "When did you and my mom start dating? Well, superheroes and supervillians don't exactly date each other, do they? They just come together."

"As did we, your mother and I. The truth is, I didn't know she was Catwoman when we got together, and I hadn't yet become Black Canary. She was closing in on thirty within a month, and I was twenty-one. We met at some party or another. I forget now. We were together for over six months. In that time, I had just started to show some signs here and there of what is now the Canary Cry, my throat would burn really badly, and sometimes when I spoke the walls would shake. I guess I was presumptuous in believing that Dinah would show signs of her abilities at a younger age than I had, at age six. Every metahuman I'd met had gotten their powers that early."

"Except you."

"Except me. I figured that with Dinah's personality, she would have developed that early as well, but it is too late for all that now." I stayed silent for a moment. There I was, again telling my story to someone other than my daughter. What was the deal? But a thought occurred to me as I thought about both stories, and the lesson that should have been learned earlier with Molly but wasn't, the lesson that was learned better late than never. I went on with me story. "Anyway... our relationship, or whatever it was we had, lasted six months, like I said. She was the only woman I ever fell in love with, and I think I was the only woman Selena ever loved. But she started to have feelings for Batman, and then, when she found out his identity, Bruce Wayne. It was through your mother that I found out the identity. She thought his team could help me with my powers and may use it for good, even though it meant fighting against the likes of her. It was not long after that I knew she was Catwoman.

"Selena was torn between me and your father. She- uh- went to him one night after some battle over something she stole and later returned, and that was how you happened. Sorry, that came out completely wrong."

"But it was true."

"Sorry." Helena shrugged. "You mother came to me afterwards and told me what had happened, a heat of the moment sort of thing, she'd said. She hoped it would have gotten Bruce out of her system, and for a while, I wanted to believe so badly. But then she found out that she was pregnant and I knew then that I wouldn't be able to handle it. Bruce wouldn't be out of her system, he'd be there every time we looked at the child- You. It didn't help that I was so young myself... Thinking it over, I think that was why I lashed out at you, and I am so sorry. At first glance at you, I knew exactly who your parents were. At second glance, I knew how you were starting to feel for my daughter, and I didn't want history to repeat itself, but there is this unknown destiny involving you two, and whether or not I want it to happen, it will happen if I try to intervene... don't matter. The same is to be said about Dinah. She was meant to be a superhero, and you're meant to be together. If it's to happen it's to happen no matter what, and that was what I was supposed to learn. Don't wait until you're dead to figure it out, okay?"

"I think... I'm ready to talk to her now." I gave a small smile at that, and watched her leave the training room.


	7. The Task Done Together Part 2

The Task Done Together - Part Two

by Erin Griffin

Rating: PG-13(ish)

Pairing: Carolyn Lance/Selena Kyle (Catwoman/Black Canary), Helena/Dinah

Summary: " 'Wha-' she was almost angry. 'What kind of DESTINY leaves a whole city shattered?!' 'A great one...' " Carolyn and Selena continue to learn their lessons and do what they can to mend their broken family.

Disclaimer: Nothing. Ever.

Author's Note: Second half of the sixth part to the Afterlife series. Is it just me, or does Selena start to sound like Giles a little bit in this one? Also, more wrongness in comic book character faultiness for Catwoman, but let it be, Hey Jude, Let it be... Don't wait until tomorrow...

I looked up at the ceiling, thinking back on my own words to Donnie. 'Everyone needs a little help here and there, you just need to know how to ask for it.' I realized that those words weren't just for him. They were for me as well. In life, I was always too proud to ask for help, often times financial, which was how I'd become a thief (and Catwoman) in the first place. I hoped this lesson learned will carry on with me into my next life. "Please, if you can, I need your approval. I need Wade's help." I was surprised by how quickly he came out of the shadows, as if he'd been there the whole time waiting for me to figure everything out.

"Took you long enough," he said to me with a wink before he knelt before Barbara like King Arthur to Guinevere. He looked up into her eyes, and the redhead couldn't believe what she was seeing. I found it odd that she could so easily converse with me, yet she was shocked into silence by the sight of Wade. No matter. I was the same way towards her. Maybe she just wasn't in love with me. "I'm here, Barbara. Things really are okay."

"You were an innocent."

"Which is why I am where I am. I'm at peace there. Selena and Carolyn helped me find it." We didn't, but he was sweet for saying that. "And the Messenger. Barbara, Heaven is such a beautiful place."

"It is?"

"Of course. It's anything you want it to be. For Selena, it is a large condo in, like, the best part of town. That was where I stayed at first. For me, its the old country house I grew up in. I told you about that, remember? When I'm on the porch in a comfy lawn chair, the sunset or moon rise lasts as long as I want it to. And when I'm inside, I can look out the attic window. It's like being up in a helicopter with hawk vision. I can see everything in New Gotham- Anywhere."

"It sounds... beautiful, like you said." There were fresh tears in Barbara's eyes.

"Better than any sunset, your smile is the most beautiful thing Heaven cannot offer. I've got a lawn chair there for you. Or we can walk together on the trails my grandfather made and maintained before he passed. They're still there... if you want."

"Yes." Wade continued to talk to Barbara, and I slowly faded into an orb to go to the Clocktower loft, where Dinah sat at its kitchen. When she saw me, she jumped to her feet. Her eyes were wide, and she looked surprised and scared at the same time.

"You're okay," I said in a soothing voice, much like the one I used when Helena woke up from a bad dream. Dinah said nothing to that, but she watched me and gave a grimace of a smile to show that she heard me. Such a pretty girl. The sadness in her eyes made her look more like her mother than she ever really had before, and maybe it was just in the Kyle blood to fall in love with Lance women. "I'm sorry all this has happened." She looked so strong, but she was breaking, and she only needed one thing to get her through this, but it was unavailable at the moment. I hoped that Care would hurry with Helena.

"You're not... Her. You've got nothing to be sorry for."

"No, but my family is hurting now. I can't stand it. It is destiny, and I cannot control what is meant to be."

"Wha-" she looked almost angry. "What kind of DESTINY leaves a whole city shattered?"

"A great one. One that will save or destroy the entire world. From the ashes a phoenix rises. Two people will come together and create a child. The two will fall, leaving the child orphaned. This child will grow to be the most powerful metahuman ever known. Anything his heart desired will be his. Anything his mind can think of will be his creation. With only a pen and paper, he could destroy the world with a single sentence." Dinah's eyes were focused on me and all I had to say. She looked horrified, almost as if she couldn't take anymore destruction and prophecies of more doom to come.

"How do we stop someone like that?!"

"By raising him." Everything froze. Dinah's face, which was going from horrified back to surprised, stilled, and I looked around. Before me stood an angry seven year old.

"We warned you about revealing their destiny-"

"You said only that I couldn't tell Carolyn, and I haven't. You never said I couldn't tell Helena or Dinah. She had to know that things will be alright. Just those words alone would have meant nothing to her. She's so lost and she needed something." I said, and Elizabeth said nothing to that. "You know," I dared to say, "I think you wanted me to tell her, otherwise you would have stopped me earlier."

"It would have confused her if you stopped in midsentance."

"You know you could have erased her memory of it all. You're making up excuses, Elizabeth."

"If I erase her memory, part of her will always know, be it deja vu, her dreams, or anything."

"She'll be okay. I have great faith in her."

"So does He, but she's not ready for it yet." Elizabeth looked up, then back to me. "You got lucky. He's going to keep the dreams of this conversation at bay for another year. By then all of this will have settled down some. Until then, I've to to erase this, rewind the moment, and you've got to play as a guardian of comfort, alright?" I nodded, feeling stupid for being chastised by a girl half my height. Elizabeth grabbed Dinah's hand and I walked to the spot I started from, and the scene went backwards. "And... once more with feeling. Selena, be good."

"Yes Mother," I said as Dinah unfroze. When she saw me, she jumped to her feet with the same surprise/fear she had before. "You're okay," I said again. "I've just come by to say that you're okay." Dinah looked hesitant, but felt she had to ask her question.

"Do you know where Barbara is? We can't find her."

"Maybe you don't have to look too far for her," I said. "She's coming back. She just had to think." Dinah nodded. "If my hands didn't go through stuff I'd play you a few hands of Rummy to pass the time."

"Never played."

"And I don't know if you've got a deck of cards around here. If you ever do though, get Helena to teach to you play. It's her favorite card game." Dinah was silent for a moment more.

"I never thought, you know, that I would ever get to meet you."

"I know you've seen me before," I said with a small nod.

"I've always wanted to meet you so that I could say I'm sorry... I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

"Oh hush now. You were just a young cub. No one would have believed you, Dinah, and you didn't know exactly if the dream was real or not. I was supposed to go when I did, Helena was meant to stay and train with Barbara, and you were meant to come here. Everything is going exactly the way it should."

"Destiny, then." Dinah said, not in a question.

"I suppose so, yeah." There was the sound of Helena's boots, and Carolyn materialized next to me.

"She's your daughter alright, sheesh," Carolyn said, and I laughed as I watched Dinah look from the three of us, Helena, Carolyn, and me. When her gaze went back to Helena, her eyes softened, and I knew we had become invisible to her.

Carolyn

I don't think either of our daughters knew we were there anymore. "You okay, Dinah?" Helena asked.

"Eh- yeah, considering." Helena stood watching her.

"You're not hurt or nothin'?" Dinah smirked.

"Be glad Barbara wasn't here to hear that sentence. She'd scold you for the bad grammar."

"Yeah, she would."

"But physically, I am fine. My wounds from the fight are almost nonexistent."

"What about emotional?" Helena asked as if she was afraid to know. Dinah made a slicing motion from her neck outward.

"Whole different story."

"Yeah." Helena agreed in a low voice. "Look, Dinah, I'm sorry I've been avoiding you."

"You don't have to apologise-"

"Yeah, I do. I need to. I've well- uh... I've been having troubles with- uh- the things I've been feeling lately- uh... for you." Dinah looked confused, but her eyes stayed on Helena. Slowly her lips smirked. "I-It's hard to- well- explain-"

"I'm in love with you too."

"She was always blunt as a kid. No doubt the Redmonds took that trait from her." I murmured, and Selena took my hand. When I looked at her, I was surprised to see that we were back in our neighborhood in Heaven. When I looked back at our two daughters, Helena looked flustered, and Dinah reached out for her hand. Helena took it.

"I think things are going to turn out okay. Good things just have to come from all of this. Come on, we've got to find Barbara," Dinah said, and Helena nodded. They shared a kiss, but it was clumsy. Dinah didn't know how to position her head, and Helena found out too late that Dinah was even leaning in. Together, after a giggle, the two of them went down to the Delphi, where Barbara had left a note.

"Okay, the three main places to ever find her are here, school, and New Gotham Park. Here, and there she's got her apartment, but ever since you got here, she's been staying here. Those are the obvious places, and she wouldn't want to go there if she doesn't want to be found." Helena looked at the note while she said all this.

"Yeah, she'd know we'd look for her there first, so where else do we go about looking for her?"

"Good question. It's pretty late, and not many places where you can be alone would be open at this point."

"Well, she's grieving. What about the places she and Wade had gone to together?" Helena thought this over for a moment.

"Got it, let's go." I watched as Helena and Dinah hurried hand in hand to the sidewalk where their jeep was and they climbed in. They sped off into the night and went to a restaurant I had gone by a couple of times right before I died, once on my way to the Clocktower where I'd heard from Alfred that Barbara was, so I could ask for her help in locating Dinah, and once on my way to No Man's Land where I needed to talk to Dinah. It had a beautiful flower garden for people who wanted to dine outside. I wondered when Wade and Barbara had gone there, since it was the first couple of weeks of winter, and I was sure the flowers had been dead for a while. At any rate, they were right. She was there.

"How did you two find me?" Barbara asked, looking between the two, then down at their joined hands.

"That doesn't matter now, Barbara. We just want you to come home," Helena said.

"I was going to. I just needed some time to figure things out."

"I understand that but..."

"Hey," Dinah cut in, and both Helena and Barbara looked at her. "This? Yeah, it sucked. It really did. None of us will ever heal from it, and there will be reminders of it everyday. But us three... and Alfred of course, we're all we've got. We've got to figure it out together, 'cause that's what families do. Was I wrong in assuming we were a family?"

"No you weren't wrong," Barbara said quickly, then smirked. "Moving speech, Dinah."

"Wasn't it?"

"Yes. Let's go home, make some coffee, and figure this out. Together."

"All for one and one for all, catch your pants before they fall." Helena added in.

"No more Casper for you," Barbara murmured as they left the restaurant.

"No even that one with Wendy?"

"Ew, no young Lizzy McGuire!" Dinah said a little loudly with a look of disgust on her face.

"Aww!"


	8. Afterlife Lessons Learned

Aftelife Lessons Learned

by Erin Griffin

Pairing: Selena/Carolyn, Helena/Dinah, OFC/OFC (you'll understand when you read it)

Summary: " 'I know you don't want to spend another lifetime searching for me. You don't have to. We're meant to be, Care. We'll be back in each other's lives- or afterlives sooner or later...' "

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: Final instalment to the Afterlife series. Thank you all for reading this series, and I hope to read more form you all soon. Happy writing.

I'm a little edgy. We've been back from our third task for a couple of hours now. I have been at the window watching our family talk things over, sharing feelings so openly like some Full House rerun. ( AN:-D Haha, I couldn't help that one.) It seemed to clear the static in the air. When Elizabeth finally came, we were both relieved. She gave Selena a 'Look' before she spoke. "You two did a fine job of completing your tasks. Are you two ready to be reincarnated?"

"Actually, there's something I need to say first. I am just not sure how to say it." Selena said, and Elizabeth nodded. Then my love turned to me. "I know you don't want to spend another lifetime searching for me. You don't have to. We're meant to be, Care. We'll be back in each other's lives- or afterlives sooner or later."

"I know that if it's meant to be, it will be. Nothing will stop it from happening. I learned that the hard way and lost my daughter. You may just appear to me somehow in the next life, but that doesn't mean that I won't stop looking for you." Selena nodded. "If we are truly meant to be, then we will meet again in our next life. I have to believe that or I will be lost." We stood and looked at Elizabeth after we said 'I love you' to each other.

"Ready?" We both nodded. "Now... I'm going to let you both in on a secret. A few of them, actually. In about an hour, you won't remember them anyway as you enter your new lives. You both met your new parents already, so I am sure you'll be just fine." I'm pretty sure I caught on to what the Messenger was saying before Selena had.

"Molly is my mother?" I tried to picture myself as African American and found that I look pretty funny. Maybe with Molly's genes, I might pull it off.

"She will be. The child she wasn't sure about keeping had miscarried, but talking to you made her realise that she wants children. Her boyfriend comes back in to her life and gets her pregnant again, and well, welcome to the world, Little One."

"So Donny-" Selena asked.

"Is Daddy." Elizabeth said happily. "Your words to Donny was actually a prediction. You don't actually get conceived for another two or three months, but in that time, you both will be in the incarnation registration process. You pretty much saved your own lives in your first tasks."

"Gotta appreciate the irony," Selena said. I smirked, agreeing with her.

"What about Helena and Dinah's destiny?" I asked after a moment.

"Oh! It's over there." Elizabeth pointed out one of our other windows, which looked out to the other parts of Heaven. There was Guy in his young man form walking with another child into the line for reincarnation.

"Guy?"

Mmmhmm", she said, but was silent after that. I got the impression that Selena understood, but I was left out. "Come now." We left the apartment and went to where I had last seen Guy. Then he saw Selena.

"Grandma, where are you going?" I held in my laughter, as I never thought I would see the day a grown man would call Selena grandma.

"I'm going the same place you are, Guy."

"You're getting reborn?"

"Yes, Sweetheart."

"I was told that if I joined the line now, I would be reborn in 2007 sometime."

"We'll be further up in line, and I assume we will be reborn in the next few months," Selena told him.

"Will we meet again?"

"I don't know, but if noting else, I will look for you in the next life and in the aftelife too."

"I'll miss you."

"I will miss you too Sweetheart." With that, we walked further up the line, as Selena said.

"And that's Helena and Dinah's destiny?"

"Part of it."

"Okay..." I said. I forced myself to be satisfied with that answer. If I was meant to know, I would know. At least I wasn't completely in the dark anymore. Guy being reborn had something to do with our daughter's joined destiny, and I was happy with that. We both walked through a door at the front of the line. No one complained, which I thought was interesting. I guess people cut in line all the time.

Twelve Years Later

A young brunette girl, about ten, walked up the elementary school steps carrying her science project. It was a heavily painted volcano that her father had helped her make over the weekend. When asked, she told her mother that she didn't need help taking it into the school, but regretted that decision as soon as she closed the car door behind her. Slowly, she balanced the volcano, and knew she was coming close to dropping the whole thing. She saw in the corner of her eye a figure by the door. "Excuse me. Could you help me?" Her load got lighter, and the door opened after the figure asked someone else to open it. The two went down the hall without another word to each other except for when the figure asked the room number. When the figure said it was near her classroom, the girl knew her helper was in her grade. They put her project on her desk and she found herself looking into green eyes. Her helper was an African American girl her age, but lighter. 'Mixed?' the girl wondered to herself. Her hair looked like it was flat-ironed, and it was lightly frizzy near its ends, but the girl still thought her helper was really pretty.

"Thank you for your help. My name's Janet. Janet Pellow."

"My name's Denise Stites. Nice to meet you." The both of them shook hands and a chill went down their spines.

Denise and Janet locked eyes before Janet gasped out, "I knew you'd find me." She covered her mouth with the hand that wasn't still holding on to Denise's. The African American's face looked stunned before it changed, and she looked relieved.

"I looked and looked." They grinned at each other.

The End


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